Tribewanted: Vorovoro

I have no doubts that the first answer to this question will be different with every tribe member you speak to. Could it be the photographs of coconut tree’s, sunsets and the vast Pacific Ocean… Perhaps the memories of the friendships with everyone you came in to contact with?

These are all certainties for any visitor to Vorovoro. During my two-week stay, there was one moment, which will also stay with me for the rest of my life. For those who shared this moment, I hope you will read this and reminisce with a smile. For those who didn’t I hope this will provide a small insight into what I found to be truly inspiring moment.

It was a Sunny Sunday noon on Vorovoro, Mothers Day. Tui Mali’s wife and Chief Linda had just received some flowers from Ryan and Pupu. The “mothers”, all in their brightly coloured suluchambas, looking fantastic, were sat around the grog mat between the Great Bure and the fire area. The men and the kids all sat around the Tanoa in front of them after a morning’s hard work preparing the Lovo.

Chief Linda had some Kava that she proceeded to present to Pupu by way of Thanks for organising, leading and working so hard on the morning events. What came next brought a tear to many eyes and even those who did not shed were beset with what they were about to see. For me, this was the greatest show of appreciation I had ever seen. Pupu started to speak in Fijian by way of accepting the Kava. He spoke slowly at first, but as he continued to increase the volume and intent in his voice, he stopped for a short pause. This was not a pause to catch a breath of air, but instead a pause to think, shed a tear and truly accept the gift of Kava. Even as he continued you could sense his overwhelming emotional appreciation through his actions, his stuttering voice and the occasional sniffle.

I had never seen anything like this. To put this into context, as to a parallel in the western world, someone had just given a man some tree roots and thanked him for the mornings work. This would usually be accepted by a simple Thank You and an odd look of “what am I supposed to do with this”. Appreciation finished.

What everyone that day witnessed was one Fijian Grandfather break down into a tear because of the love and appreciation that one person showed for one mornings work.

This made me realise how I am often presented with much more than this at Christmas, Birthday’s and other ad hoc times throughout the year, but even gifts with much greater value, great love from another family member, or the feeling of “that’s exactly what I wanted” I have never even come close to feeling this level of appreciation for anything in my life before.

Having just got home and churned my way through all four episodes of Paradise or Bust once again, there was a quote from Doug…
“We have everything in our country yet we’re not happy, these people have nothing yet they have everything.”

This captures everything I thought and saw at that moment.

Now back home this moment is still with me and I will consciously bring it to the forefront of my thoughts whenever I am lucky enough to accept a gift of any type from any person in the future.

These two minutes on Vorovoro has changed the way I think forever.

Vinaka Vakalevu.